Next Great Baker (season 3)

Last updated

Next Great Baker
Season 3
No. of episodes12 (includes two special episodes)
Release
Original network TLC
Original releaseNovember 26, 2012 (2012-11-26) –
February 11, 2013 (2013-02-11)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 2
Next →
Season 4
List of episodes

The third season of Next Great Baker aired from November 26, 2012, to February 11, 2013. [1] Like the previous season, this season was set at the Carlo's Bake Shop facility at Lackawanna Center in Jersey City, New Jersey. Unlike the previous two seasons, the finale for this season took place outside of the greater New York City area – in this case, in Las Vegas, Nevada at The Venetian Las Vegas.

Contents

The winner of this season was Ashley Holt, who won $100,000 and a spread in Redbook magazine, and will work beside Buddy Valastro in the bakery. [2]

Contestants

Thirteen contestants competed during this season: [2] [3] [4]

ContestantAgeOccupationHometown
Letty Alvarez41Owner/Operator of LA Sweets Miami, Florida
James Brown41Owner of Brown's Bakery Lexington, Kentucky
Paul Conti30Bakery Management Consultant/Owner Cake Face Cakery Staten Island, New York
Chad Durkin29Possessor of knowledge. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Gretel-Ann Fischer36Owner of Cupp's Café & Bakery Colchester, Vermont
Peter Gray21Owner of Pete's Sweets East Longmeadow, Massachusetts
Ashley Holt25Country Club Pastry Chef/Owner of Sugar Monster Sweets Louisville, Kentucky
Jen Kwapinski32Owner of Jen's Cakes San Jose, California
Chris Luna29Sales Executive Roseville, California
Melissa Payne33Owner of Couture Cake Creations/Co-owner of Sweets Couture Chesterfield, Virginia
Jessica Reyling30Stay-at-Home Mom Peoria, Illinois
Emme Tyler30Owner of Skinny Batches Los Angeles, California
Garrett Wallace36Cake Artist at Fabulous Baker Boy Waverly, Tennessee

Contestant progress

As episode 5 ("New Year's Eve, Hoboken Style!") and episode 11 ("Road to the Finale") were not competition episodes, there are no columns for those episodes in the following table.

PlaceContestant Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Episode 4 Episode 6 Episode 7 Episode 8 Episode 9 Episode 10 Episode 12
Baker's
challenge
winner(s)		ChadGretel-Ann
Jen
Letty
Melissa		Ashley
Garrett		Ashley [n 1]
Chad
Gretel-Ann
Paul
Peter [5] 		Jen
Letty		Gretel-AnnAshleyAshleyAshleyAshleyNone
1AshleyWIN [n 2] ININWINLOWLOWWINWININWINWINNER
2Gretel-AnnLOWLOWHIGHLOWWIN [n 3] WINWINLOWLOWLOWSECOND
3JenLOWLOWWINLOWWINWIN [n 4] WINWIN [n 5] INTHIRD
4PaulWIN [6] WINLOWWININLOWLOWWINOUT
5ChadLOWINLOWWINWINLOWLOWOUT
6ChrisHIGHWINHIGHLOWINWINOUT
7LettyLOWLOWWINWINLOWOUT
8PeterHIGHINWINWINOUT
9GarrettLOWWININWD [n 6]
10JessicaWIN [6] WINHIGHOUT
11MelissaHIGHLOWOUT
12JamesLOWWD
13EmmeOUT
  (WIN) The baker(s) won the challenge.
  (WIN) The baker won individual immunity and the elimination challenge.
  (HIGH) The baker(s) had one of the best cakes for that challenge, but did not win.
  (IN) The baker(s) did not win nor lose and advanced to the next week.
  (LOW) The baker(s) was/were a part of the team who lost, but was not the last to move on.
  (LOW) This baker was singled out as one of the worst teammates, and was/were the last to move on.
  (OUT) The baker(s) was/were eliminated.
  (IN) The baker(s) had immunity.
  (WD) The baker(s) voluntarily withdrew from the competition.
Notes
  1. ↑ In "Cake Roast", Buddy declared that Ashley was the MVP of the winning baker's challenge team.
  2. ↑ In the episode 1 elimination challenge, Buddy declared that Ashley was the MVP of the winning team.
  3. ↑ In the episode 6 elimination challenge, Buddy declared that Gretel-Ann was the MVP of the winning team.
  4. ↑ In the episode 7 elimination challenge, Buddy declared that Jen was the MVP of the winning team.
  5. ↑ In the episode 9 elimination challenge, Buddy declared that Jen was the MVP of the winning team.
  6. ↑ Garret's departure was not shown until episode 6.

Episode guide

No. in
series		No. in
season		TitleOriginal air dateContestant
eliminated
201"Game On!"November 26, 2012 (2012-11-26)Emme

Baker's Challenge: Each competitor must bake a dessert of their choice, and deliver it to Buddy in Manhattan on foot. Buddy will taste the first dessert to arrive and any other 4 desserts that look or sound appealing. Buddy will also disqualify the last dessert to arrive. Emme was the first person to arrive, so her dessert was automatically tasted. Peter was the last to arrive, and his dessert was thrown in the garbage. Buddy also tasted Gretal-Anne, Ashley, Chad and Jame’s desserts. Chad was the declared the winner of the Baker's Challenge.

Elimination Challenge: Guest client Mario Lopez and Courtney Maza enter to receive a bachelor cake. Team 1 was Melissa, Peter and Chris, Team 2 was Jess, Paul and Ashley, Team 3 was Gretal-Anne, Letty and Garrett, and Team 4 was Jen, Emme and James. Chad’s advantage for winning the baker’s challenge, meant he could pick whatever team to join. He chose Team 4. The MVP of the winning team would win a free trip to Mexico. Team 2 won the challenge with Team 1 in a close second. It was unanimously decided that Ashley was the MVP for her work on the dog, and she won the trip. Team 3 and Team 4’s had the bottom cakes and their cakes were destroyed by a crane. Team 3 were criticised for their sloppy work and the dog on their cake falling apart, as well as Letty and Gretal- Anne’s constant bickering over who the leader was. Team 4 was criticised for representing the theme poorly, as well as the sombrero sliding off the cake, due to the lack of support, and was also grilled for having an extra person, and still failing. Team 4 was chosen as the bottom cake. Emme was sent home as she was deemed as the weakest link.
212"Cake Powers, Activate!"December 3, 2012 (2012-12-03)James (Quit)

Baker’s Challenge: Buddy chose the team leaders, which were Peter, Melissa and Garrett. Peter chose James, Ashley and Chad, Melissa chose Gretal-Anne, Jen and Letty, and Garrett chose Jess, Chris and Paul. Season 2 winner Marissa Lopez, was brought in to teach the bakers how to make a groovy girl fondant cake. The bakers would have 30 minutes and the team that made the most cakes to Carlos bakery standards would each win 1500 dollars to buy kitchen equipment. Team Melissa won the challenge with a total of 3 while the other teams made 2.

Elimination Challenge: The bakers have to create a super hero themed cake and the cake must tell a story. The hero must be original, and the cake must also be an engineered cake and have a moving part. To help him judge, Buddy brought in his brother in law, Joey and special guest Lou Ferrigno, who played as the original Incredible Hulk, in the tv series. Garrett’s team won the challenge, the judges said their engineering was very good, and their villain looked amazing, but the hero looked weak. The other teams were in the bottom. Peter’s Team was praises for all of the detail on their cake, Joey wasn’t crazy about the rat idea for their cake and also, not all of their engendering worked. Melissa’s team was criticised for their lack of detail and the judges not being able to connect to the story. Melissa’s team lost the challenge. However, before Buddy was about to send one of the girls home, James reappeared, and revealed that he had a brain tumour, and he was pulling himself from the competition, as he could not properly concentrate in the competition worrying about the operation. After an emotional goodbye, James left the competition. And because of James’ departure, the girls were safe.
223"Bunny Suits and BB Guns"December 10, 2012 (2012-12-10)Melissa
234"Cake Roast"December 17, 2012 (2012-12-17)Jessica & Garrett (Quit)
245"New Year's Eve, Hoboken Style!"December 31, 2012 (2012-12-31)N/A
This special episode recaps the series up to this point, and gives a behind-the-scenes look at how the competition is put together.
256"Wedding Belles"January 7, 2013 (2013-01-07)Peter
267"Cakes Al Dente"January 14, 2013 (2013-01-14)Letty
278"Battle of the Sexes"January 21, 2013 (2013-01-21)Chris
289"Happy Birthday Kelly"January 28, 2013 (2013-01-28)Chad
2910"Momma Knows Best"February 4, 2013 (2013-02-04)Paul
3011"Road to the Finale"February 11, 2013 (2013-02-11)Jen
3112"Vegas, Baby!"February 11, 2013 (2013-02-11)(1)Ashley , (2) Gretel-Ann

Production notes

Contestant James Brown withdrew from the competition prior to the December 3, 2012 broadcast, after having been diagnosed with a benign brain tumor and being affected by the stress of his upcoming medical treatment. In a statement, Brown said, in part, "I have been focused on my health and am working with my doctors to prepare for surgery to remove the tumor, which will happen early next year." [7]

Following the competition, Buddy hired contestant Paul Conti to work at Carlo's Bakery alongside Ashley, after Paul lost his job and home due to Hurricane Sandy. [8]

Chad Durkin was also later hired by Buddy for his pastry skills, and can be seen in the 2015 season of Cake Boss.

Related Research Articles

<i>Beauty and the Geek</i> (American TV series) American reality television series

Beauty and the Geek is an American reality television series that premiered on The WB on June 1, 2005. It has been advertised as "The Ultimate Social Experiment" and is produced by Ashton Kutcher, Jason Goldberg and J. D. Roth. The show's title is a parody of Beauty and the Beast. This was the first show produced by the Fox Television Studios sub-division Fox 21.

Food Network Challenge is a competitive cooking television series that aired on the Food Network. In each episode, professional chefs vie in a timed competition in their professional specialty. The winner receives a cheque for $10,000 and a gold medal. The first run of the series started in 2005 as a number of specials, before becoming a regular series that launched in 2007 and ended in 2011.

Cake Boss is an American reality television series, which originally aired on the cable television network TLC. The series premiered on April 19, 2009, and has spawned four spin-offs: Next Great Baker, Kitchen Boss, Bake You Rich, and Bakery Boss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlo's Bake Shop</span> Bakeries of the United States

Carlo's Bake Shop, commonly known as Carlo's Bakery and also known as Carlo's City Hall Bake Shop, is a bakery in Hoboken, New Jersey, owned by Buddy Valastro. The bakery has gained public attention as the setting of the TLC television series, Cake Boss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buddy Valastro</span> American pastry chef

Bartolo "Buddy" Valastro Jr. is an American baker, reality television personality, and businessman. He has taken his small, family-owned bake shop, Carlo's Bakery, and turned it into a baking and restaurant empire. Valastro is best known as the star of the reality television series Cake Boss, which ran on the TLC cable channel from April 2009 until April 2020. He has also starred in Next Great Baker (2010), Kitchen Boss (2011), Buddy's Bakery Rescue (2013), Bake You Rich (2013), Bakery Boss (2013), Buddy vs. Duff (2019), Buddy vs. Christmas (2020) Buddy Valastro's Cake Dynasty (2023-present) and Legends of The Fork (2023-present)

<i>Next Great Baker</i> American TV series or program

Next Great Baker is an American television series that airs on TLC, hosted by Buddy Valastro, the star of his own reality series, Cake Boss. The show features contestants participating in challenges that test their edible art baking and decorating skills. Each week, a contestant will be eliminated; the last contestant standing will win a grand prize package that varies by season. Other prizes for winning a challenge or the week's competition are also offered during the series.

The first season of Next Great Baker was televised from December 6, 2010, to January 24, 2011, on TLC. During this season, the last contestant standing would win $50,000 cash, a Chevrolet Cruze and an apprenticeship at Buddy's bakery, Carlo's Bake Shop in Hoboken, New Jersey.

The second season of Next Great Baker was televised from November 28, 2011 to January 30, 2012 on TLC. This season was set at the new Carlo's Bake Shop facility at Lackawanna Center in Jersey City, New Jersey.

<i>Around the World in 80 Plates</i> American television series

Around the World in 80 Plates is an American reality competition television series that debuted May 9, 2012, on Bravo. The series follows twelve chefs competing in a culinary race across ten countries in 44 days and is hosted by professional chefs Curtis Stone and Cat Cora.

<i>The Great British Bake Off</i> (series 1) First series of The Great British Bake Off

The first series of The Great British Bake Off first aired on BBC Two on 17 August 2010. Ten home bakers took part in a bake-off to test their baking skills as they battled to be designated the best amateur baker. Each week the programme bakers participated in three challenges in a particular discipline, with some being eliminated at the end of each episode. The rounds of the competition took place in various locations across the UK following a theme, for example, the episode on puddings took place in Bakewell, bread baking would take place near Sandwich. This first series had a voiceover by Stephen Noonan; for the subsequent series this role was taken by the on-screen presenters Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins. The competition was won by Edd Kimber.

The fourth season of Next Great Baker premiered on June 24, 2014. Unlike other previous seasons, the teams competed in teams of two. Other changes from the previous seasons include the addition of Jacques Torres and Bobbie Lloyd as judges, the addition of the final showdown, and the opportunity to work at Buddy's Las Vegas cake shop. However, some aspects of the show were similar, including having ten competitors as in season 1, and the $100,000 prize awarded in each of the previous seasons remained.

Next Great Baker: Latin America was a Latin American television series that airs on Discovery Home & Health: Latin America, hosted by Buddy Valastro, the star of his own reality series, Cake Boss. In the show, eight contestants participated in challenges that tested their baking and decorating skills. Each week, a contestant was eliminated; the last contestant standing won a grand prize prize of US$50,000. Other prizes for winning a challenge or the week's competition are also offered during the series.

Batalha dos Confeiteiros is a Brazilian television series based on Next Great Baker, hosted by Buddy Valastro, the star of his own reality series, Cake Boss. The series premiered Wednesday, 30 September 2015 at 10:30 p.m. on RecordTV.

<i>Worst Bakers in America</i> American food reality television series

Worst Bakers in America is an American cooking competition television series that aired on Food Network, presented by chefs Duff Goldman and Lorraine Pascale. The series is a spin-off of Worst Cooks in America.

<i>Best Baker in America</i> American TV series or program

Best Baker in America is an American cooking competition television series that airs on Food Network.

<i>Dr. Seuss Baking Challenge</i> American TV series or program

Dr. Seuss Baking Challenge is an American cooking competition television series hosted by Tamera Mowry-Housley. It premiered on Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Freevee on December 13, 2022.

References

  1. ↑ "Shows A-Z – next great baker, the on nbc". the Futon Critic. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Game On!". Next Great Baker. Season 3. Episode 1. November 26, 2012. 01:04 minutes in. TLC.
  3. ↑ "Next Great Baker (Season 3)". Discovery Press Web. Archived from the original on November 9, 2012. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Track the competition". TLC. Archived from the original on November 27, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2012. Last name are given in linked videos, not in website text.
  5. ↑ "Cake Roast". Next Great Baker. Season 3. Episode 4. December 17, 2012. Event occurs at 11:23–11:50. TLC. Based on that, without a doubt, hands down, it's this team. Now I need to pick an MVP.
  6. 1 2 "Game On!". Next Great Baker. Season 3. Episode 1. November 26, 2012. Event occurs at 53:39–54:01. TLC.
  7. ↑ "A Statement From "Next Great Baker" Contestant James Brown". TLC. December 4, 2012. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Cake Smash" and "Sugary Slopes", Cake Boss, TLC, June 3, 2013.
General references
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.